Spanish National Anthem - "La Marcha Real" (ES/EN) - YouTube Spanish National Anthem - "La Marcha Real" (ES/EN) Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Jul 17, 2011 National Anthem of Spain - "La Marcha Real" (The Royal March) Includes lyrics in both Spanish (Spain) and English. Category National anthem N National anthem A national anthem (also national hymn, song etc.) is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people. History Anthems rose to prominence in Europe during the nineteenth century, but some are much older in origin; the oldest national anthem is "Het Wilhelmus", the Dutch national anthem, written between 1568 and 1572 during the Dutch Revolt.

The Japanese anthem, "Kimi ga Yo", has its lyrics taken from a Heian period (794-1185) poem, yet it was not set to music until 1880. "God Save the Queen", the national anthem of the United Kingdom and one of the two national anthems of New Zealand , was first performed in 1745 under the title "God Save the King". Spain 's national anthem, the "Marcha Real" (The Royal March), dates from 1770 (written in 1761). The oldest of Denmark's two national anthems, "Kong Kristian stod ved højen mast" was adopted in 1780 and "La Marseillaise", the French anthem, was written in 1792 and adopted in 1795. An anthem can become a country's national anthem by a provision in the country's constitution, by a law enacted by its legislature or simply by tradition. The majority of national anthems are either marches or hymns in style. The countries of Latin America tend towards more operatic pieces, while a handful of countries use a simple fanfare .

Although national anthems are usually in the most common language of the country, whether de facto or official , there are notable exceptions. India 's anthem, "Jana Gana Mana", is a highly Sanskritized version of Bengali. States with more than one national language may offer several versions of their anthem: For instance, Switzerland 's anthem has different lyrics for each of the country's four official languages (French, German , Italian and Romansh). Canada 's national anthem has different lyrics for each of the country's official languages ( English and French), and on some occasions is sung with a mixture of stanzas taken from its French and English versions. The Sri Lankan national anthem has translated lyrics for each of the country's official languages Sinhala and Tamil.It was actually written in Sinhala, but a Tamil translation is also played on some occasions and mostly played in Tamil Provinces and Tamil schools. On the other hand, South Africa 's national anthem is unique in that five of the country's eleven official languages are used in the same anthem (the first stanza is divided between two languages, with each of the remaining three stanzas in a different language).

Apart from God Save the Queen, the New Zealand national anthem is now traditionally sung with the first verse in Māori (Aotearoa) and the second in English (God Defend New Zealand). The tune is the same but the words are not a direct translation of each other. Another multilingual country, Spain, has no words in its anthem, La Marcha Real, although in 2007 a national competition to write words was launched Usage National anthems are used in a wide array of contexts. They are played on national holidays and festivals, and have also come to be closely connected with sporting events. During sporting competitions, such as the Olympic Games , the national anthem of the gold medal winner is played at each medal ceremony. National anthems are also played before games in many sports leagues, since being adopted in baseball during World War II. When teams from two different nations play each other, the anthems of both nations are played, the host nation's anthem being played last. The use of a national anthem outside of its country, however, is dependent on the international recognition of that country.

For instance, the Republic of China is not recognized by the Olympics as a separate nation and must compete as Chinese Taipei; its National Banner Song is used instead of its national anthem. In some countries, the national anthem is played to students each day at the start of school as an exercise in patriotism. In other countries the anthem may be played in a theatre before a play or in a cinema before a movie. Many radio and television stations have adopted this and play the national anthem when they sign on in the morning and again when they sign off at night. There may also be royal anthems, presidential anthems, state anthems, etc for special occasions. Certain etiquette may be involved in the playing of a country's anthem. These usually involve military honours, standing up, removing headwear etc. In diplomatic situations the rules may be very formal. For parts of states The Soviet Union and the United Kingdom , amongst others, are notionally held to be unions of many "nations" by various definitions. Each of the different nations may have their own "national anthem" and these songs may be officially recognized. 14 of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union had their own official song which was used at events connected to that republic.

The Russian republic used the USSR's national anthem. Some republics retained the melodies of those songs after the dissolution of the USSR (see the article National anthems of the Soviet Union and Union Republics). The United Kingdom's national anthem is "God Save the Queen" but its constituent countries also have their own anthems which have varying degrees of official recognition. England , Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland each have a number of songs which may be played at occasions such as sports matches and official events. The song usually played for England is "God Save the Queen", though sometimes Jerusalem and Land of Hope and Glory may be played instead. Scotland has relatively recently adopted Flower of Scotland as its unofficial National Anthem, while Wales has sung Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (Land Of My Fathers) since the 19th century. Northern Ireland too has traditionally used "God Save the Queen" though Londonderry Air is also used. In the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, each of the republics (except the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina) had right on its own national anthem, but only the Socialist Republic of Croatia had an anthem of its own, latter joined by the Socialist Republic of Slovenia at the virge of the breakup of Yugoslavia.

The Socialist Republic of Macedonia did not officially use an anthem, even one was proclaimed during the World War II by ASNOM. Czechoslovakia used to have an anthem composed from the first parts of Czech and Slovak modern anthems. After the splitting of Czechoslovakia both countries got their own anthems. International organizations Larger entities also sometimes have 'national' anthems, in some cases known as 'international anthems'. The Internationale is the anthem of the socialist movement, and the communist movement. Before March 1944, it was also the anthem of the Soviet Union and the Comintern. The tune of the Ode to Joy from Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 is the European anthem; the United Nations and the African Union also have unofficial anthems. The Olympic Movement also has its own anthem. Esperanto speakers at meetings often use the song La Espero as their anthem. Creators Most of the best-known national anthems were written by little-known or unknown composers such as Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, composer of La Marseillaise and John Stafford Smith who wrote the tune for The Star-Spangled Banner .

The author of God Save the Queen, one of the oldest and best known in the world, is unknown and disputed. Very few countries have a national anthem written by a world renowned composer, some exceptions are Germany , whose anthem Das Lied der Deutschen uses a melody written by Joseph Haydn and Austria , whose national anthem Land der Berge, Land am Strome was sometimes credited to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart . A few anthems have been composed by Nobel prize winners. India and Bangladesh adopted two songs written by the first Asian Nobel prize winner and noted Bengali poet/author Rabindranath Tagore as their national anthems, Jana Gana Mana and Amar Shonar Bangla, respectively. This is a very rare occasion where one person is the author of the national anthems of two different countries, if not unique. Nobel prize winner Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson wrote the lyrics for the Norwegian national anthem Ja, vi elsker dette landet. Some national anthems have no official lyrics at all, for example Spain.

(Wikipedia) El himno nacional de España — The Spanish National Anthem By Gerald Erichsen Spain has long been one of the countries with no lyrics for its national anthem, known as La marcha real ("The Royal March"), but that could change soon. Spain's national Olympics committee held a contest in 2007 to come up with suitable lyrics, and the words below are those penned by the winner, a 52-year-old unemployed resident of Madrid, Paulino Cubero. Unfortunately for the Olympics committee, the lyrics immediately became the subject or criticism and even ridicule by political and cultural leaders. Within a few days of the lyrics becoming known it became clear that they would never be endorsed by the Spanish parliament, so the Olympics panel said it would withdraw the proposed lyrics. They were criticized, among other things, for being banal and too resminiscent of the Franco regime. Here are the proposed and withdrawn lyrics: La marcha real National Anthem of Spain (1874-1931) - "Marcha Real" (Unofficial Lyrics) - YouTube National Anthem of Spain (1874-1931) - "Marcha Real" (Unofficial Lyrics) Want to watch this again later?

Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on May 16, 2015 Himno de la Primera Republica: Himno de la Segunda República: Himno de España: ●▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩ESPAÑOL۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬● Marcha Real es la denominación tradicional, conjuntamente con la de Marcha Granadera (o antiguamente, Marcha de Granaderos), que recibe el himno nacional de España. La Marcha Real ha sido el himno de España desde el siglo XVIII, con la excepción del Trienio Liberal (1820-1823), la I República (1873-74) (cuando disfrutó de cooficialidad) y la II República (1931--1939), en cuyos periodos se adoptó el Himno de Riego.

El general Francisco Franco restableció su oficialidad durante la Guerra Civil, en la zona bajo su control, en un decreto del 27 de febrero de 1937, ratificado en el BOE una vez finalizada la contienda, el 17 de julio de 1942. Aunque el Rey Carlos III la declaró «Marcha de Honor» el 3 de septiembre de 1770, fue la costumbre popular lo que la convirtió de facto en himno nacional, con anterioridad a que lo fuese declarado legalmente. La denominación de «Marcha Real» fue una expresión acuñada popularmente, debido a que se solía interpretar en los actos públicos a los que asistía el rey o la reina. ●▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩ENGLISH۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬● The Marcha Real (Royal March") is the national anthem of Spain.

The anthem, one of the oldest in the world, was first printed in a document dated 1761 and entitled Libro de Ordenanza de los toques militares de la Infantería Española (The Spanish Infantry's Book of Military Bugle and Fife Calls), by Manuel de Espinosa. Here it is entitled La Marcha Granadera ("March of the Grenadiers"), although no composer's name is given. In 1770, King Charles III declared the Marcha Granadera to be the official "Honour March" for the Sovereigns and the Royal Family, as it was played at public and ceremonial events, and because it was always played at public events attended by the royal family, Spaniards soon came to regard the Marcha Granadera as their national anthem and called it the Marcha Real, or "Royal March". Though the Marcha Real has no lyrics, words have been written and used for it in the past. One version was used during Alfonso XIII's reign and another during General Franco's dictatorship; however, none of them were ever made official.

The national anthem has been played without words since 1978, when the lyrics that had been approved by General Francisco Franco were abandoned. ●▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ஜ۩DEUTSCH۩ஜ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬● Marcha Real („Königlicher Marsch") ist die Nationalhymne von Spanien. Sie ist eine der wenigen Nationalhymnen ohne Text. Die spanische Nationalhymne ist eine der ältesten in Europa. Erstmals nachweisbar ist sie 1761 im Libro de Ordenanza de los toques militares de la Infantería Española (Buch der Ordnung der militärischen Signale der spanischen Infanterie) von Manuel Espinosa unter dem Titel Marcha Granadera (Grenadiermarsch). Weit verbreitet ist der im 19. Jahrhundert in Spanien entstandene Mythos, der Komponist sei Friedrich II. von Preußen (Friedrich der Große) gewesen, der sie Karl III. gewidmet habe.

Diese Behauptung beruht jedoch auf unrichtigen historischen Voraussetzungen. Ebenfalls umstritten ist die Behauptung, 1770 sei die Marcha Granadera von Karl III. per Dekret zum offiziellen „Ehrenmarsch" erklärt worden. Erst gegen Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts, in der Regierungszeit Isabellas II., avancierte sie zur Marcha Real (Königlicher Marsch). Category The Netherlands National Anthem Introduction From the web site of the Dutch MFA I found the text of the Dutch national anthem in English. I think that a lot of the Dutch would understand (some parts of) this English translation better than the mysterious, ancient words from 1570, that we sing so fervently without completely knowing its meaning (the Dutch language has changed more over the centuries than most other languages). Nonetheless, in some Dutch schools pupils have to learn this complete ancient text by heart (although usually, in most schools, this is restricted to only the first and the sixth verses). It's something like learning Shakespeare in the United Kingdom, I guess.

Dutch MFA Text The Dutch national anthem, the Wilhelmus, has fifteen eight-line verses. It was written between 1569 and 1578. Based on older songs, the Wilhelmus takes the form of an acrostic on the name of William of Orange, the leader of the Dutch revolt against Philip II of Spain. The lines were probably composed by a Dutch exile in Germany and polished by the poet and diplomat Philip van Marnix, Seigneur of Sint Aldegonde. The first and sixth verses are usually sung on national occasions. In the first verse, Prince William vows that he will remain true to his country unto death; in the sixth, he prays to God for strength to rid the land of tyranny. In periods of oppression especially, these verses have had a powerful appeal for the people of the Netherlands. 1 History On 10 May 1932, it was decreed that on all official occasions requiring the performance of the national anthem, the Wilhelmus was to be played.

Before that time, the Wilhelmus had been sung on many official occasions and at many important events since 1568: events such as the siege of Haarlem in 1573 and the ceremonial entry of the Prince of Orange into Brussels on 18 September 1578. Trumpets sounded the Wilhelmus when Prince Maurice visited Breda, and again when he was received in state in Amsterdam in May 1618. When William V arrived in Schoonhoven in 1787, after the authority of the stadholders had been restored, the church bells played the Wilhelmus continuously. By then, it had come to be called the "Princes' March", having been banned during the rule of the Patriot party. At the celebrations marking the birth of the child who would later be King William II on 16 December 1792, it was sung after High Mass in the Catholic church in Venlo. Following the surrender of 's-Hertogenbosch to the French on 9 October 1794, the garrison withdrew with full military honours to the sound of the Wilhelmus.

However, at the foundation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1813, the Wilhelmus had fallen out of favour. After a contest for a national anthem was held in 1815, a poem by Hendrik Tollens - "Wien Neerlands Bloed" (Whose Dutch Blood) - became popular. The music was by the composer J W Wilms. "Wien Neerlands Bloed" was gradually replaced by the Wilhelmus during the nineteenth century; the latter gained ground particularly after the southern Netherlands seceded in 1830. Indeed, the Wilhelmus was played and sung when new Acts of Parliament were promulgated. It was also played at the unveiling of the Plein 1813 independence memorial in The Hague in 1869, and again at the inauguration of Queen Wilhelmina in 1898. However, the Royal Netherlands Navy and the National Police Force continued to require a salute to honour both anthems until 1939. 2 Origin In 1567, Prince William of Orange fled the Netherlands with thousands of other opponents of Spanish rule. The following year, he tried in vain to free his country from tyranny and religious persecution.

But his three invasions with mercenaries from the Holy Roman Empire failed completely. The poem is both encouragement for the Prince and a manifesto aimed at gaining support from the German princes for his cause, by portraying Orange as a prince fighting for freedom of religion on an equal footing, rather than a rebellious subject of his lawful sovereign, Philip II. The writer depicts the Prince addressing the oppressed people of the Netherlands in this terrible and dramatic situation. In his elevated speech, interrupted by a prayer in verses six and seven, the Prince bears witness to his sincerity and determination, and expounds his innermost motives for rising against the King of Spain. William comforts his followers, but at the same time exhorts them to join in the struggle. He also reminds them of their duty to obey God. In what might be called a psalm of defiance, the poet compares the Prince with David, who had to flee from Saul, the first King of Israel, before himself ascending the throne. He commends the Prince to the people as the chosen leader of the revolt against the King of Spain.

3 Melody The tune of the Wilhelmus is based on a French soldiers' song, which was popular around 1569, and alternates between three/four and four/four time. It probably originated at the time of the siege of Chartres. The melody was further developed by Adriaen Valerius (approx. 1575-1625). The oldest copy of the Wilhelmus is to be found in Deuchdelijk Solutien (Antwerp, 1574). Since 1626, it has been included in Valerius's Gedenckclanck, a well-known collection of national songs. The official version is the arrangement by Walther Boer, dating from 1932. 4 Structure The song's style resembles that of the work of the Rederijkers ("rhetoricians"), sixteenth century companies of poets. For example, the first letters of the fifteen verses spell the name "Willem van Nassov".

The text is also thematically symmetrical, in that verses one and fifteen resemble one another in meaning, as do verses two and fourteen, three and thirteen, etc, until they converge in the eighth verse, the heart of the song: "Oh David, thou soughtest shelter/From King Saul's tyranny". The sober language and deep feelings that inspired the Wilhelmus make it far superior to the fashionable works of its period. 5 Full text of the Dutch National Anthem, the "Wilhelmus" FOLLOWING PAGES: Detail from a Jan Verkolje painting c.1674, highlighting the domestic amateur class of viol playing 1 William of Nassau, scion Of a Dutch and ancient line [1], Dedicate undying Faith to this land of mine. A prince I am, undaunted, Of Orange, ever free, To the king of Spain I've granted A lifelong loyalty. 2 I've ever tried to live in The fear of God's command And therefore I've been driven, From people, home, and land, But God, I trust, will rate me His willing instrument And one day reinstate me Into my government. 3 Let no despair betray you, My subjects true and good.

The Lord will surely stay you Though now you are pursued. He who would live devoutly Must pray God day and night To throw His power about me As champion of your right. 4 Life and my all for others I sacrificed, for you! With my life's blood the peerless Gospel of God our Lord. 6 A shield and my reliance, O God, Thou ever wert. I'll trust unto Thy guidance. O leave me not ungirt. That I may stay a pious Servant of Thine for aye And drive the plagues that try us And tyranny away. 7 My God, I pray thee, save me From all who do pursue And threaten to enslave me, Thy trusted servant true. O Father, do not sanction Their wicked, foul design, Don't let them wash their hands in This guiltless blood of mine. 8 O David, thou soughtest shelter From King Saul's tyranny. Even so I fled this welter And many a lord with me. But God the Lord did save me From exile and its hell And, in His mercy, gave him A realm in Israel. 9 Fear not 't will rain sans ceasing The clouds are bound to part.

I bide that sight so pleasing Unto my princely heart, Which is that I with honor Encounter death in war, And meet in heaven my Donor, His faithful warrior. 10 Nothing so moves my pity As seeing through these lands, Field, village, town and city Pillaged by roving hands. O that the Spaniards rape thee, My Netherlands so sweet, The thought of that does grip me Causing my heart to bleed. 11 A stride on steed of mettle I've waited with my host The tyrant's call to battle, Who durst not do his boast. For, near Maastricht ensconced, He feared the force I wield. My horsemen saw one bounce it Bravely across the field. 12 Surely, if God had willed it, When that fierce tempest blew, My power would have stilled it, Or turned its blast from you But He who dwells in heaven, Whence all our blessings flow, For which aye praise be given, Did not desire it so. 13 Steadfast my heart remaineth In my adversity All nerves to live and be.

I've prayed the Lord my Master With fervid heart and tense To save me from disaster And prove my innocence. 14 Alas! my flock. To sever Is hard on us. Farewell. Your Shepherd wakes, wherever Pray God that He may ease you. His Gospel be your cure. Walk in the steps of Jesu This life will not endure. 15 Unto the Lord His power I do not confession make That ne'er at any hour Ill of the King I spake. But unto God, the greatest Of Majesties I owe Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) – nationalanthems.info Questions about the website: How do I cite your page in the MLA, Turabian, Chicago, or Harvard format? Using for all of these, an example of citing this site’s page on the Canadian national anthem, and assuming that you accessed the page on January 1, 2012, the formats would be: MLA Bibliographic citation: “Canada » nationalanthems.info.” nationalanthems.info. Ed. David Kendall. Web. 1 Jan 2012.

< MLA In-text citation: (“nationalanthems.info”) Turabian Bibliographic citation: “Canada » nationalanthems.info.” nationalanthems.info. (accessed January 1, 2012). Turabian In-text citation: (“Canada » nationalanthems.info,” ) Chicago Bibliographic citation: “Canada » nationalanthems.info.” Accessed January 1, 2012. Chicago In-text citation: (“Canada » nationalanthems.info” ) Harvard referencing style: nationalanthems.info (n.d.) Canada » nationalanthems.info, [online] Available at: [Accessed: January 1, 2012]. Please note to change the page title, page URL, and access date for your particular needs. Can I use your music files / lyrics / sheet music / information on my website / in my project / on a CD? We encourage people to use the information on this site in other works so that the knowledge of national anthems can be shared beyond the scope of this site. The site is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License ( ).

We would prefer, if at all possible, that nationalanthems.info be credited as the source of information used from the site, and a link be provided to nationalanthems.info. This license, however, does not extend to any music file or anthem lyrics marked as © copyrighted to any person or entity, they retain the copyright and that information cannot be used by others without obtaining permission from them first. (These copyrighted files are the music files for the Aland Islands , St. Barthélemy , Sovereign Military Order of Malta , the sheet music for the Turks and Caicos , and the English translation of the Botswana anthem.) Also keep in mind that if you wish to contribute information or files to the site that, unless you state otherwise, they must be able to be shared under the same license as well. Why are there no sheet music / lyrics / music for a particular anthem? While this site aims to have the most complete information of national anthems available, sometimes we have not been able to find all the required information for an anthem. If you have information that is not on the site, and would like to share it, please let us know! Are some of your MP3 files converted MIDI files?

Yes, roughly half of the MP3s on the site are converted MIDI files, yet they are all in MP3 format. The main reason for this is for many files (especially those of former anthems), there is a dearth of MP3 files that we have the performer’s clearance to use. While national anthems themselves are in the public domain (see more on that in the question “Are national anthems copyrighted?” ), individual performances or arrangements are almost always copyrighted. Since this site is set up so that people can use the information and data within free of charge (see the second question in this section as well as our Creative Commons license for more information), in order to use an MP3 file, we must first seek permission from the copyright holder; since the intent of this site is to distribute our information free of charge, permission is not usually granted. That being said, most current anthems of mainly UN members are in MP3 format due to permission being granted to use a particular set of anthems on this site. The rest of the anthems here are converted from MIDI files that we have been able to use (and several of those files were created by the primary editor of the site).

Due to changing technologies, it was easier to convert the MIDI files to MP3, rather than keep them as MIDI. How do I listen to, view, or download the music, sheet music, or lyrics? For the music, you should see a play button icon in the music section. Clicking the play button will expand the music player; at first there wil be a flashing square next to a pause button, the flashing square indicates the music is loading. Once loaded, the flashing square will change to a progress bar with a timer showing the time elapsed on the playback, pressing the pause button to the right will pause the playback. Beside each music file should be the word “Download” in blue on a grey box, left clicking on that will save the music file to your computer’s download directory.

Music files linked within the information section of each anthem will be a normal blue hyperlink, a left click will play it in another window, and right clicking should bring up a dialogue box, select the appropriate one to save the file (on Windows systems, it is labelled “Save File As … “; on Macs it is labelled “Download Linked File As …”) Copyrighted music files do not have the download link and will instead display a notice of who owns the copyright for that piece below the music file, please respect the owner’s copyright and do not attempt to download their files to your computer. If you wish to view the lyrics, click on the text corresponding to which lyrics you want to view (English translation, lyrics in native language, in the native script, etc.) Clicking it again will hide it. Note that some language scripts may not display on your computer (you may see boxes or other strange characters), this just means that you don’t have the proper fonts or rendering support to view the lyrics. Wikipedia has a helpful article on what you need to do in order to display these languages on your computer.

Ocassionaly, you may encounter a word or phrase in the lyrics that is underlined , this signifies that there is additional information on this word or phrase that aids in the understanding of the lyrics, hovering your mouse over the word or phrase will show the information. Sheet music can be easily viewed by left-clicking on the blue description or page number in question, the sheet music should appear in another tab in your browser window. The pages can be downloaded by right-clicking on the various descriptions or page numbers in blue for the sheet music, and saving in the same fashion as explained above for the music files. What is the difference between 'English translation' and 'English versification'? What does 'Romanization' mean? A translation attempts to provide a close-as-possible English meaning to the words so that they can be understood by English readers. A versification, however, is a more loose translation that matches the rhyming scheme and meter of the original so that it can be sung in English, but the translation may not be a good match of the meaning of the original words. Romanization is a way of representing languages in the Roman (Latin) alphabet that use another alphabet.

This is primarily done to get an idea of the pronunciation of the words. It should also be noted that this site attempts if at all possible to match the lyrics to the music, which may require repeating certain lines in the lyrics that are not presented in the official version of the lyrics as repeated, yet are meant to be repeated for performance. What is a 'local anthem' or 'national song'? Why doesn't your website show the anthem of the parent country as the national anthem of a territory or dependency? Most territories and dependencies have a local anthem or national song to use when their own identity is wished to be expressed, for example, in sporting events and local celebrations. In almost all cases the anthem of the parent country remains the official “national anthem” of the territory or dependency; this website means to reflect this in the information write-ups of the territories, presenting the local anthem as the unique anthem of the territory while mentioning the parent country’s anthem as the true national anthem. Why is there hardly any information on a particular anthem? Short answer: we couldn’t find any! The information on this page is culled from other anthem sites, official government pages for each nation, contributors, books, and our own knowledge.

Unfortunately, the fact is that we just haven’t found much information on many nations through these means. Which leaves us with our contributors. If you know of information on a particular anthem, please let us know, and it will be shared on the page, citing you as a contributor! (Don’t forget to let us know your name!) How do you determine which anthems appear on your site? This is, as you may guess, a very controversial topic and can be quite political. This site tries to stay away from political controversy on this site (which isn’t easy), so we have attempted to follow for the most part two international organizations’ lists of recognized nations, the International Standards Organizations 3166 list , which is, in turn, based on United Nations data. (The file names of all the data are based on the ISO3166 list as well). Aside from recognized nations, there are also other national anthems on this site, which is even harder to determine what to include, and usually garner the most questions as to why it is included.

Dependencies and colonies are included (based on United Nations and ISO3166 data) if they have their own regional anthem different from the parent country, with a few exceptions as a matter of general interest. Subnational areas (provinces, states, districts) are included if they either have some degree of autonomy (such as the Azores and Tibet ), have been an independent nation (or separate colony) before (such as Bavaria and Newfoundland ), is a distinct “nation within a nation”, often having a distinct national characteristic from the “parent nation” (such as Scotland and Basque Country ), or (primarily) that we felt would be of general interest to our visitors. (Note that many countries that have subnational areas have local songs in the subnational areas, but they are not “national anthems”, but rather “provincial/state/prefecture/regional songs”).

Finally, there are other anthems that aren’t of nations or subnational areas, such as those of people groups ( Kurdistan , Assyria ), former nations ( Austria-Hungary , East Germany ), or just plain miscellaneous ( Esperanto , United Federation of Planets ) that are included mainly as a broader view of the study of national anthems and how they are used; inclusive-ness is determined mainly by percieved level of visitor interest. For those wanting to learn about anthems that we decided not to include (such as state or regional songs), please visit nationalanthems.us (Contributions submitted to this site that don’t match the site criteria may be submitted to the nationalanthems.us site and appear there.) Please keep in mind that this site is set up not to be a list of countries of the world (which would exclude a lot of entries on this site), but rather of anthems of the world; despite the political status of the group using the anthem, this site only concerns itself with the background of the anthem, not the politics or status of the group using the anthem. What is the meaning of the site's logo?

It is intended to be a graphical representation of what the site is all about; there is a representation of the world, combined with the white flag of peace to form the shape of a musical note, symbolizing music of the nations of the world (flag and globe), bringing understanding of other cultures and peace (white flag of peace). The font is reminiscent of that used for musical notation for dynamics and other symbols. Who is behind this site? There are two people responsible for the content of the site: David Kendall is the primary editor and maintainer of the site since it was founded in 1999. He is responsible for most of the information that appears on the site. He lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada . Zachary Harden is the assistant editor of the site since 2013. He is responsible for adding additional information submitted by visitors and other minor updates. He lives in Bentonville, Arkansas, United States . You can reach either of us through our contact form to learn more about us. How was this site created?

This site was created using the Suffusion theme of WordPress , as well as some handy plugins developed by others like Collapse-o-matic for the anthem lyrics, Custom Field Widget for the anthem information, and MP3-jPlayer for the music files. Where have you been interviewed about national anthems? What other works have you lent your expertise to? The primary editor David Kendall have been interviewed about anthems on the radio for: BBC Radio (“Curious Questions Answered” August 12, 2002) (no clip available) If you wish to contact someone from this site for an interview, you may do so at our contact form . Questions concerning national anthems: Why do countries use national anthems? Do all countries use national anthems? Interestingly, there is no international law that requires a country to adopt an anthem (or a flag), yet currently every country has realized that this is something that is needed as part of a national identity. An anthem is used to musically express what a country (or other group of people) stand for and what unites them, like a flag or a national motto.

In modern times, the only country to not have adopted a national anthem at a particular time was Afghanistan ; during the reign of the Taliban (a strict Islamic group) from 1999-2002, music was forbidden in the country, therefore a national anthem would have been against this law. After the Taliban was defeated, the anthem used up to that point was reinstated. ( Germany also did not have an anthem from 1945 to 1949, but, legally, there was no German government at the time.) How did the practice of national anthems get started? The first countries to adopt national anthems were the European monarchies, in the late 18th century. (Probably the earliest of those was Great Britian .) It was probably started as a means of praise to the ruler. The tradition quickly spread across Europe as other countries saw the advantages of such a song. Other countries with republican types of government (such as France ) developed anthems from songs that were de facto anthems, songs used as rallying cries of the people. People-groups and regions developed their anthems in much the same way.

However a particular nation came about with their national anthem, the practice spread to other parts of the globe during the late 19th century, when Europeans were colonizing other countries and bringing in their ways. Until the early twentieth century, “national anthems” as we know them were rare (indeed there was not the need for them that we have, no television or radio to broadcast them, no Olympics to play a winner’s anthem, etc.) Therefore, keep in mind that most of the anthems on this site before roughly 1930 were probably unofficial. Also, note that many of the leading countries of today didn’t officially adopt an anthem until well into the twentieth century ( United States (1931), Germany (1922), Canada (1980)), and some (like the United Kingdom and Finland ) never officially adopted an anthem, their anthems in current use have been “de facto” legitimized through popular use. One of the best quotes on the subject can be found from Thomas O’Higgins, a legislator from Ireland.

Speaking on the national anthem in 1933, he said: “National Anthems come about, not because of the suitability of the particular words or notes, but because they are adopted generally by the nation. That is exactly how the “Soldier’s Song” became a National Anthem in this country. It happened to be the Anthem on the lips of the people when they came into their own and when the outsiders evacuated the country and left the insiders here to make the best or the worst of the country. It was adopted by the people here before ever it was adopted by the Executive Council”. Are there any national anthems without words? There are actually quite a surprising number of anthems without words, for whatever reason. Currently, this site lists 28 of them. Only a few of these are currently used anthems, these are the anthems of Spain , Basque Country , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Europe , Kosovo , San Marino , Sealand , and the United Arab Emirates , as well as the United Federation of Planets .

Other anthems no longer in use that were wordless are those of Abu Dhabi , Afghanistan (1926-1943) , Egypt (-1958) , Iraq (1924-1958) , Iraq (1959-1965, 2003-2004) , Iraq (1965-1981) , Italy (1862-1946) , Kuwait (1951-1978) , North Yemen (1962-1978) , Ottoman Empire (1829-1839, 1918-1922) , Ottoman Empire (1839-1861, 1876) , Ottoman Empire (1861-1876) , Qatar (1954-1996) , Russia (1991-2000) , Somalia (1960-2000) , Somaliland (1960) , South Yemen (1967-1979) , Zanzibar (?-

1890) , and Zanzibar (1911-1964) .

(Many of these have unofficial lyrics, and several more had wordless melodies at one time, but lyrics have since been written. Others, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, are in the process of adopting lyrics.) Are national anthems copyrighted? Most anthems are in the public domain due to the age of the song/lyrics or by legislation making national symbols copyright-free, however, individual composers can still arrange a national anthem and record it, and the recording of their arrangement is under copyright protection. Several countries also forbid parody versions of the national anthem. Copyrighted performances may be performed for non-profit educational purposes under “fair use” (or fair dealing), but for clear answers on your particular situation, it is best to consult a copyright lawyer in your own country (which we are not). Please note that permission has been granted for all the anthems on this site to be used by anyone for any purpose (except the handful marked © to various individuals, noted above ) for either educational non profit or commercial for profit. What is the best national anthem? This is a very subjective thing to judge, and pretty much hinges on how you define “best”.

(You may have seen in magazines or websites where they list, for example, “The Ten Best Songs of Rock and Roll”, and you would inevitably disagree with their picks (or each list has different picks), mainly because it depends on personal taste.) Some good criterion for what makes an anthem good are that it should be stirring and simple, while encapulating how natives and the world view the country, as well as easy to sing. Nations such as Gibraltar , Canada , Germany , and Israel all fit this description. Keep in mind, that this is a very unscientific and somewhat arbitrary answer to a hard-to-answer question. The best answer to what the “best” national anthem is, of course, is the one held most dear by the listener. What is the name for the study of national anthems? There actually doesn’t exist a formal name for the study of anthems. The primary site editor prefers the term “anthematologist” for someone who is a serious researcher of anthems (the study of which he has termed “anthematology”), and “anthemist” for someone who is a less-serious student of anthems, but enjoys them.

(Somewhat like the difference between “numismatist” for one who actively pursues coin and bill collecting, and “coin collector” for one who just keeps interesting specimens of coins and bills they encounter in a box.) What are the different types of national anthems? While studying national anthems, it has been noticed that many national anthems have similar characteristics, either in the style of music, in their history, or both. Six categories have been identified and named, based on the part of the world where they occur, as well as some examples of some countries that use these types of anthems: Latin American epic anthems: Possibly the easiest to identify, these are found in Latin American (Spanish-speaking Central and South America) countries and tend to be rather long, have an epic quality in the music, often containing both a quick, patriotic section of music, and a slower, stately part, and consists of many verses, usually chronicling the history of the country. Many are also composed by Italians (or other Europeans). They also tend to have a similar history in that they are usually written for another piece of music, but later the music is replaced but the original words are kept.

In many cases, all the verses are official and, whether or not all verses are often sung in the country or not, children are expected to memorize the entire anthem in school in some of these countries. Examples include Argentina , Ecuador , El Salvador , Honduras , and Uruguay . Western ode: The oldest type of anthem, originating in Europe and common to European monarchies and their former colonies, they are stately and smooth in music style. Examples include Australia , Canada , Germany , and the United Kingdom . Pacific hymn: Perhaps a subset of the “Western ode”, many countries in the Pacific have adopted as the music of their national anthem either a church hymn or folk song from a former (or current) colonial master, and applied new words to it for their national anthem. Examples include Fiji , Pitcairn Islands , and Micronesia . European march: Often used by non-monarchical European nations, and often by socialist nations, and/or nations born in revolution, these anthems are in a march style and often speak of war. Examples include France , USSR (1922-1944) , and USSR (1944-1991) .

Eastern Folk: Anthems that are reminiscent of the “national style” of music, often adapted from folk music, and sometimes utilize native instruments. Examples include Japan , India , Kenya , Swaziland , and Senegal . Arab fanfare: Common to states in the Persian Gulf (usually sheikhdoms, emirates, or otherwise ruled by royalty) at one point in their history, these are short anthems consisting of little more than a fanfare and flourish. They often have no words as well. Examples include Bahrain , Kuwait (1961-1978) , and Iraq (?-1958) . Are there any countries that use the same anthem as another country? Again, you would be surprised at how many nations do fall into this category. There are many different examples on this site, some examples as well as classification are: Common heritage: Europe by Rhodesia What is proper protocol regarding national anthems? Anthem protocol varies from country to country. Some countries have laws regulating respect for the anthem, some don’t. Here is a partial list of some of the various anthem regulations in the world, followed by general guidelines to follow, regardless of the country you happen to live in.

Thailand : In Thailand, the anthem is played at 8:00 in the morning and 6:00 in the evening every day, to respect the country and the sovereign. Sometimes the national anthem would come on in the middle of a television broadcast and patriotic images are shown, the anthem is given top priority. In movie theatres, patriotic images are shown between the trailer and main feature, and the royal anthem is played. In all these situations, standing and observing silence is mandated. Myanmar : It is customary for the singers of the anthem to give a slight bow at the conclusion of their performance, as a sign of respect to the nation and anthem. United Kingdom and the Commonwealth: God Save the Queen must be played for Her Majesty the Queen or other members of the Royal Family. Governors-General of Commonwealth countries are to be honoured by a salute, consisting of an abbreviated version (usually the few beginning bars and the few ending bars) of the national anthem of their own country. (See the page for Australia for an example of this.) Denmark : Inside Denmark, the Royal Anthem is played only when royalty is present and is usually followed by the National Anthem .

(Thanks to Gerrit van de Ruitenbeek for this information) New Zealand : Addressing New Zealand’s unique situation of having two official anthems, “God Save the Queen” is to be played at occasions where a member of the Royal Family is present or loyalty to the crown is stressed, where “God Defend New Zealand” is to be played where the national identity of New Zealand is addressed. There are no regulations as to whether English or Maori language versions are to be performed, and to which order, yet common practice says that if the first verse is sung in Maori, it should be repeated in English. Kazakhstan : Upon adoption of the new anthem in early 2006, a law was also passed “obliging everyone to stand and press the palm of their right hand to the left side of their chest when the national anthem is performed in public” (as reported by Radio Free Europe: Radio Liberty ). As stated before, this is just a small list of the various codes regarding anthem etiquette around the world. General rules should follow the above, as they seem to be universal.

In addition, some other helpful guidelines are: When multiple anthems are to be performed (such as honouring a visiting dignitary or sporting team from another country), the host nation’s anthem is usually performed last. In Western countries, men are generally required to remove their hat during the playing of the anthem, but ladies generally are not. (This is due to the centuries-old notion that a woman’s hat is part of her outfit, while a man’s is an accessory to it.) It is not absolutely necessary to sing along to the anthem (especially if you don’t know the words, although most anthem lyrics are on this site!) Any national anthem, whether of your own or of another nation, should be treated equally (that is, one should stand up for both, be silent for both, and both should be treated with respect), regardless of your personal feelings toward the other nation. As stated on the main page of this website, learning about national anthems is a way to learn about other cultures and people, learning about others gives us respect for others, treating another’s anthem the same as you would treat your own demonstrates that respect.

Question: Known in English as "Royal March", the national anthem of which country has no words?
Answer: Spain